Schools Rugby
Riddlesdown Rugby’s Great Start
Rugby has really taken off at Riddlesdown Collegiate in Purley, Surrey, since starting up a mere 12 months ago. In their first year they were unbeaten in all league fixtures and they also won five trophies, including three Croydon League titles, a Croydon / Sutton and Merton title as well as a Surrey Sevens plate. The school now fields a side in each year group and average over 100 players a week training. This year each team will be playing league rugby as well as regular fixtures against local traditional rugby playing schools including John Fisher and Trinity. Their under 15s will also be involved in the Daily Mail Cup for the first time in the school’s history. Over the summer they took their under 12, under 15 and under 16 squads to the Brian Ashton rugby academy in Normandy. The tour was a massive success with fantastic work being put in on the training pitch along with two wins against strong French opposition. Through hard work and investment (the school’s head Gordon Smith has been keen to promote and invest in the rugby, with brand new pads, scrum machine etc) they are aiming to continue this growth in future years and aiming to bridge the gap between the state school rugby and independent schools rugby in the local area. Said Andrew Edwards, PE Teacher and Head of Rugby, “Through a lot of hard work and help from parents, local clubs Warlingham and Old Midwhitgiftians, we are fielding a side in every age group and the boys have shown massive enthusiasm for what many of them is a new sport.”
U16 Tens at Franklin’s Gardens
East Midlands County Schools Union, working in Partnership with Guinness Premiership club Northampton Saints, hosted an Under-16 tens competition at Franklin’s Gardens and Northampton BBOB. Twenty schools from across Bedfordshire & Northamptonshire took part in a competition split between established and emerging rugby schools. All participating schools were given a tour of Franklin’s Gardens and a talk by members of the Saints’ academy. All Saints Academy from Dunstable won the Emerging Schools competition, beating Kingsbrook HS from Deanshanger 15-10 in the final. Sponne School from Towcester won the Emerged School event with a 20-5 victory over Prince William’s from Oundle. Trophies and medals were presented by Bob Taylor, a former England and British and Irish Lions international and a past-president of the RFU and Brian Mujatii of Northampton Saints. All four finalists were also given tickets to watch Northampton’s home Guinness Premiership victory over Leeds Carnegie when their trophies were re-presented during half time.
Tag in China
The international language of rugby was evident when 53 teachers from the North East travelled to China to work in three summer schools developing English with students aged between 12 and 16. As part of the programme three teachers – Mark Holt, Alastair Hickman and Sarb Rathore – coached tag rugby with 45 students. Rugby is a growing sport in China and said Mark Holt from Wensleydale RUFC in North Yorkshire,“Over the three weeks we worked with the students, the skill level of the boys and girls improved a huge amount and everyone had a fantastic time playing tag. Each day was structured to provide a variety of skills and disciplines, with the coaches ensuring that all the children were placed in groups suited to their age, experience and ability. It was a huge success and caused a buzz of excitement throughout the summer school with their constant talking about rugby, so much so that the course co-ordinator was keen to develop future rugby links in the next summer camp.”
